EVTank: The lithium battery shipments for electric ships in China reached 0.61GWh in 2023, with a year-on-year increase of 87.1%.

Recently, the research institution EVTank and the Ivie Economic Research Institute jointly released a white paper stating that in 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved the "2023 Ship Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategy," which will accelerate the development of zero/near-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. Coupled with the continuous decrease in lithium battery prices, the number of electric ships in China has significantly increased. According to EVTank's statistics, by the end of 2023, the number of electric ships in China has exceeded 700, with over 200 new ships added that year. This has driven the shipment of lithium batteries for ships to reach 0.61 GWh, a year-on-year growth of over 80%, making it one of the fastest-growing industries in the downstream application of lithium batteries. EVTank pointed out that the battery capacity of individual electric ships in China continues to break records. Following the "Yangtze 1" (with a capacity of 7.5 MWh), the "COSCO Green Water 01" (N997) has a capacity of 57.6 MWh, marking the beginning of the application of lithium batteries on large ships. In the white paper, EVTank stated that besides lithium batteries, the shipbuilding industry's demand for various clean energies is becoming more apparent. The promotion and application of new energy ships such as LNG ships, LPG ships, methanol-powered ships, and fuel cell ships will enter the fast lane. EVTank pointed out that LNG technology has already reached a relatively mature stage, and its application as fuel in ships has reached a certain scale. On the other hand, electric ships are still primarily using lithium iron phosphate batteries, while hydrogen-powered ships and other hydrogen energy ships are still in the early stages of development. With the large-scale application of lithium batteries in power and energy storage, the rapid decline in their costs will further reduce the initial cost of electric ships. With the continuous upgrading and improvement of onshore charging and swapping infrastructure, coupled with the development and application of large-scale ship swapping technology, high-voltage fast charging technology, and innovative financing and leasing schemes, EVTank predicts that the number of electric ships in China will reach 1,520 by 2025 and exceed 10,000 by 2030. The rapid development of electric ships and ship swapping will drive the rapid growth in demand for lithium batteries. By 2025, the demand for lithium batteries for ships is estimated to reach 1.4 GWh, and by 2030, it will reach 21.9 GWh. EVTank's statistics show that although there are currently 30 ship lithium battery manufacturers certified by the China Classification Society (CCS), Eve Energy Co., Ltd., Contemporary Amperex Technology, and Gotion High-tech remain the main players, with the three companies holding a combined market share of nearly 80% in 2023.